Record of Service:  Pilot Officer Norman Seymore Jermey

 

Age: 19
Hometown: Orillia, Ontario 
Occupation: Machinist
Marital Status: Single
Dependants: N/A
Hobbies\Interests: Hunting, Basketball, Lacrosse and Golf
RCAF Trade: Gunner (rear)

Pilot Officer Norman Jermey

 Notes: The youngest member of the Collver crew. 

Date of Enlistment: December 10, 1942

Place of Enlistment: #11  RCAF Recruiting Centre Toronto, Ontario                      

Notes about enlistment application:

Norman Jermey's Air Force enlistment form specifically noted that he was primarily interested in becoming either a Pilot or Navigator but was willing to accept any aircrew position. The recruiting officer made special mention of the fact that he appeared "Keen, alert, intelligent, with good a personality. Seems, enthusiastic, aggressive, good aircrew material."  

Prior to enlisting, Norman Jermey worked as  machinist in Peterborough and later Orillia. He came from a farming background in the Orillia area. He attended Orillia Collegiate Institute followed by Peterborough Vocational School, it would appear he was not interested in becoming a farmer.

Other interesting notes on his application include his personal activities being listed as hunting, lacrosse, basketball and golf.

Basic Training:

Notes about basic training:

Training involved drill, military protocol, exhaustive physical training and basic soldiering. Number One Manning Depot was located at the site of the Royal Winter Fair on the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds. Norman Jermey was classified as on leave with permission for 151 days from the date of his enlistment, the reason for this is unknown.

 

#6 Initial Training School Toronto, Ontario

The Link Trainer.

Notes about ITS training:

The purpose of Initial Training School was to determine the students aptitude for becoming either a pilot, navigator or bomb aimer or if the candidate should be sent to yet another trade. Most students were there with the intention of becoming pilots, those that struggled in the Link trainer, one of the earliest aircraft simulators, were sent to other trades. However, not all Navigators were pilot wash outs, it was well known that if you showed too much skill in mathematics that you risked being selected as a Navigator or Bomb Aimer. Areas of study at the school included navigation, flight techniques, mechanical engineering, mathematics, telegraphy, and aircraft identification.

The school was located at the current site of Ryerson University. 

At some point during Norman Jermey's posting to #6 ITS,  it was determined that he was not suited for the trades of pilot, navigator or bomb aimer and he was transferred out a little over a month into the course.

 

Gunnery Training

#1 Air Gunnery Ground Training School

Notes about #1 A.G.G.T.S:

No. 1 Air Gunners Ground Training School operated from St. Charles Hospice on Dorchester Street in Quebec City. The hospice established in 1870, was an orphanage for children, particularly those girls who came from troubled homes. It was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force at the outset of the Second World War.

No. 1 A.G.G.T.S. was a temporary establishment. It formed in March 1943 as a result of a critical shortage of aerial gunners overseas. It remained in Quebec City until January 1944. During its short tenure in Quebec City, the school conducted a six-week preparatory course in the use, care and maintenance of machine guns used on aircraft as well as drill, physical training and small arms training.

 

#9 Bombing & Gunnery School

 The Fairey Battle.
The Air Gunner's Wing worn on the front left of the uniform.

Notes about Gunnery training:

Training involved intensive classroom and air work. Ground courses were heavily focused on maintenance and operation of Browning  machine guns and Bristol gun turrets as well as aircraft recognition. Turret manipulation was practised on both the ground and in the air. Students spent in the vicinity of 15-20 hours in-flight training shooting at towed targets and other exercises. Usually a few hours more was spent practising on the ground and in the classroom.

Embarkation

Notes about Embarkation:

Just about every Canadian airmen that embarked overseas went through RAF Station Bournemouth, it was a huge processing centre where incoming troops reported and were kept until they were allotted postings where they would continue their training. Bournemouth was something of a coastal resort town but troops quickly became bored waiting there for their next assignments. They often took the opportunity to show mundane films on personal hygiene and venereal diseases.

While other aircrew trades would go on to Advanced Flying Units to further hone their skills, gunners would go straight to Operational Training Units were they would be formed into a crew and continue their training.

 

Overseas Training

Operational Training Unit

Notes about 22 OTU:

The Operational Training Unit is where airmen of separate trades converged to be formed into crews. Generally speaking, the crews were gathered in a common area and instructed to form up amongst themselves, it was felt that giving the crews the opportunity to do so would help them function better as a unit. Sometimes crews were formed because of common interests other times simply because someone asked them to join the crew. In any event, the concept worked well and most crews became very close knit.

On January 12 of 1944 the crew was formed, Norman Jermey was only 5'-8" tall, that made him a logical choice for the cramped spaces of the rear turret. Over the next few weeks the members of the crew would still fly with other crews from time to time as their Pilot J. Collver would be hospitalized as well as Robert Leman. Sickness was quite common with the men overseas as they were forced to endure damp Yorkshire winters in poorly heated and sometimes unheated accommodations.

The Vickers Wellington

The training  was conducted on the twin engine such as  Wellington bomber, training included circuits, cross country navigation, bombing, gunnery, night flying, formation flying and defensive maneouvres. Also the crew would fly what were known as leaflet raids, these were trips to safer areas of occupied territories such as France where propaganda leaflets would be dropped. 

According to Norman Bailey's log book, the crew completed a leaflet or "Nickel Raid" to St. Malo France towards the end of their training at 22 OTU. Robert Leman's personal log also makes note of the occasion and mentions that they were sent to photograph the town, enemy aircraft and flak were present. This was the crew's first mission into hostile territory.

 

61 Base  1666 Heavy Conversion Unit

Notes about 1666 HCU:

1666 HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit) was where the crew learned to operate four engine bombers that they would fly with their operational squadrons. It was at this point that an RAF Flight Engineer (William Desborough) would join the crew.   The activities at the HCU were similar to those at the OTU only with larger more powerful aircraft. The crew would also learn survival and escape and evade tactics.  Aircraft used at the HCU were older discarded Halifaxes such as the MkII.

It should be noted that training at OTU's and HCU's was in itself quite hazardous. There were a multitude of accidents, ranging from mid air collisions to crashes on take off. The aircraft used by training units had sometimes survived operational tours or had been overhauled and were deemed too rickety to use operationally. 

 

 

431 Iroquois Squadron RCAF Station Croft, Yorkshire

Notes about 431 Squadron:

Norman Jermey flew an additional operation with a different crew when he served as Mid Under Gunner on Halifax LK-845 SE-J which was sent on a daylight operation to Biennais, France. The crew he flew with was:

Sgt G.R. Baumann (Pilot), Sgt. G. Sidebottom (Navigator), Sgt. N.A. Francis (Bomb Aimer), Sgt. J. Smith (WAG), Sgt. G.L Cuffe (MU Gunner), Sgt. W. Windsor (rear Gunner) and Sgt J.T. Evans (Flight Engineer).

In a strange coincidence this crew would also perish on the same operation as Norman Jermey's crew, Sgt. Cuffe managed to be the only survivor from the 5 crews lost by 431 Squadron when his aircraft exploded after being hit by flak.

 

For complete operation details of the Collver crew, see the Operations section.

 

 The 431 Iroquois Squadron badge

The 1939 -1945 Star

The France and Germany Star

The Defence Medal

The General Service medal.

The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Ribbon and Leaf Emblem. It was awarded for a minimum of six months overseas service.

 

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